When it goes sour
by BFangz
Summary: The team tries to save the life of a kidnapped child. Then things begin to go wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**When it goes Sour  
-1-**

Cho stretched out and tried to get comfortable. A stone was digging into his rib cage, so he brushed it away from his body by body movement, rather than reaching for it. That way he didn't have to alter the bi-pod alignment on the heavy M14 that he was cradling in his shoulder. Jane's head in the scope was crystal clear. "Can you copy me, Jane. Give me a radio check."

Staring at Jane through the scope, it seemed like he was right there. "I copy Cho. One, two three. Good copy?"

Cho smiled. The man was a master ventriloquist. His lips did not move at all. Now, all they had to do was wait and hope it played out without going sour. If it went sour, no telling how many people would die. It was Cho's job to insure that none of the team were in the body count and to help keep the little girl alive, too. "Got you five by five, Jane. Now, the key to shoot is 'pull back, dude,' Roger that?"

Jane smiled, but his lips did not move. "That's a big 10-4 good buddy. 'pull back, dude,' and you 'make his day'." Without losing his sight picture, Cho slightly shook his head, wondering if Jane was ever serious.

The tarp covering Cho was actually helping to keep him cool by providing shade. This could not take too long. Set up the ransom exchange, get the girl back alive, and then try to take down the perps. That's how it was supposed to play. "Wonder how that's going to work," he mused.

oOo

Lisbon put the phone down, face ashen. "We've got another kidnapping, Team. The ransom demand is already in. The family can afford what is being asked, and the Mayor want's to go with that scenario. The last time, we had a dead child and nothing to show for it. We don't want that again.

The team looked at each other, nodding soberly. "We know they will kill," Rigsby said. "Now the question is will they deliver, and if they do, how do we take them down."

"They weren't smart, just vicious!" Jane said. "They killed for nothing. They got no money, and now, they have every law official beating the bushes for them. That does not show me a lot of planning or forethought. We will simply have to out think them. If they are as stupid as they seem, that should be easy."

"That's easy to say, but we have to roll or we'll not get there by the instruction deadline. They said they'd call back in an hour. Let's get to the roof. A chopper will provide transport." Lisbon set words to action and headed for the elevator and pushed the up button. The rest where right behind her, even Rigsby, who took an additional two seconds to grab a doughnut.

"What?" he said, when all eyes turned towards his laggard approach. "I was hungry."

Cho watched with concealed amusement as Van Pelt's exasperated "Wayne" exploded from her. Only months of practice kept his face impassive as Wayne hurriedly stuffed the last of the doughnut into his mouth, cheeks bulging, and tried to look guiltless.

oOo

Cho, from his vantage point, could see a white, beat up van approaching. "Heads up. Bogey approaching," he said into his voice activated microphone. "On the north road, white van." Van Pelt and Wayne were concealed at another vantage point, so Lisbon and Jane were the two visible, both of them wearing only pants and t-shirts., making it obvious that they were unarmed. Cho zoomed the scope in on the van's windshield and saw two men in the front seat. The interior was too dark to distinguish more, but he now knew that the shot, if needed, would be as easy as he though it would be.

The van stopped about twenty five paces from Jane, Lisbon and the SUV. A man opened the door and stepped out, holding something oblong and shiny in his hand. "I have a laptop computer, here," he said. "I'm going to bring it half way to you and leave it. When I return to my van, you'll come, pick it up and go back to your position. I'll then tell you what's next."

Cho grunted an almost silent grunt of satisfaction. He could hear everything through Jane's mic. It would help his readiness to know what was being said. He didn't feel comfortable totally relying on Jane to give the kill signal. If he felt the need, he'd make his own decision. Even in the service as a sniper, the final decision was always his. That's the way he worked. The final decision would always be his.

The second man got out of the van and Cho could see that he was armed with an automatic rifle. Cho grimaced. "You're my boy," he mused as the carefully adjusted the range and zoom on his scope.

oOo

The house was even more lavish than any of them had expected, but the Mayor, sending a helicopter to transport them there, should have been a clue. This house reeked of money and power. Even Jane seemed slightly taken aback, though Lisbon was the only one who recognized the signs in him. To most, he looked like the same old cocky Jane, but Teresa noticed the slight alteration in his carriage and his stride had shortened, not his normal, confident lanky gait. "So this is what it takes," she mused, pleased at her additional insight into the interior Jane.

The phone rang, causing an instant flurry of activity. As according to plan, Jane answered the phone, quickly made peace with the caller, managed to quickly establish himself as the official spokesman for the family and the state and proceeded, in a business like fashion, to arrange the exchange. He made notes as they talked, even though everything was being recorded. They would compare the two, making sure there was no confusion.

"Understood," Jane said. "You do your part and we'll do ours." He hung up the phone and shook his head. "This cannot be this simple," he observed. "They were almost too easy. We have 3 hours to get the money and meet them right here," he said, pointing to the map on the table. "We are told to drive and to follow these guidelines," he said, indicating the notes he'd made. I can't get a read on them. They used a voice scrambler, so there's no way I could tell anything from voice stress, intonation or accent. I'm really afraid I underestimated them before."

oOo


	2. Chapter 2

**When it goes Sour**

**-2-**

Lisbon picked up the laptop, turned her back on the armed man, and strolled back to Jane, as if there were no problems in the world. "Open it and pres F3," the seemingly unarmed man called.

Lisbon flipped the lid up, but Jane called back to the man, "What should we call you? I'm Jane and this is Lisbon," he said, indicating Lisbon.

"We're not here to chat," the unarmed, apparently leader of the two, man called back. "You can call me Sir."

Jane grimaced and briefly turned his attention to the laptop. He froze and stared, as a surprisingly clear image formed on the screen. He was seeing a picture of the kidnapped child, bound to a chair. He saw that there was a TV behind her, scrolling a date and time, below a news cast. Lisbon and Jane realized, at the same time, that they were watching a life web-cast of the kidnapped girl.

"She is alive," Jane observed to Lisbon and the child struggled to find a more comfortable position.

Lisbon nodded. "We have to make this work."

In a very low voice, Jane communicated to Cho what they were seeing on the laptop. Cho tersely responded with a curt, "Roger," never losing his sight picture on the armed man. Jane straightened and addressed the two men. "What's next? We can see that she's still alive and we want her to stay that way."

"She will stay that way if you do what we say!" The unarmed man held up his right hand. "See this? It's dead man switch. I let go of the trigger, it sends a signal that triggers an explosion of the C4 that's under her chair. You can see that, can't you?"

Jane and Lisbon looked at the lap top, again, and they could see what appeared to be an explosive device, under the chair. "We see it," Lisbon responded. "He has to stay alive," Jane told Cho, his lips not moving.

"Roger," Cho replied, adjusting his scope so he could see what was being held. "It looks real, from here."

"You bring the money half way to me and return to where you are. I'll come and get it, drive away and within a half hour, instructions will display on the screen of how to get our little hostage." The man held up the switch. "When we are out of range, the switch will deactivate, but till then, you will leave us alone." He smiled. "And by then, we'll be long gone!"

"And why should I let you leave, at all," Lisbon said. "Suppose I just don't let you leave and solemnly promise you, you set the switch off, we shoot you on the spot."

"You could try that," was the reply, "but if you'll look at the screen, again, you notice in the lower left hand corner, a countdown timer. That's when the bomb goes off automatically. You fool around, and she goes boom, anyway. You don't want that, now do you?"

"Why should we believe you." Lisbon asked. "I need more than just your word."

"Well, my word is what you have. Once I'm out of range, there's nothing in it for me is she lives or dies. If she dies, the hunt for me will be a lot more intense than if she lives. So, that's what's in it for me. I walk, she walks."

There was silence then Jane asked, "What's your mother's first name?"

"What? Are you crazy? Why do you want my mother's first name?" The man looked confused.

"Oh, I don't want your mother's first name, but humor me and tell me."

The man nodded. "Oh, you're the psychic nut that the cops are using. So, how's this going to work out?"

"Tell me you're mother's name and I'll tell you," Jane replied.

The man smiled. "My mother's first name was Martha."

"And if you walk Cindy walks, right," Jane asked.

"Right," the man replied. "So how's this going to work out for me."

Jane smiled. "Actually, it's looking real good for you. Her family is stinking rich, as you know, and our instructions are to get her back by whatever means it takes. Looks like that's giving you the money."

"Jane," Lisbon hissed. "This is not a love fest."

The kidnapper smiled. "You aren't half as dumb as you look. Good man. Now, just bring the money to the halfway point, and we'll get this done.

Jane turned to Lisbon. "I believe him, Lisbon. They are a lot smarter than I gave them credit for, and he's right about having nothing to lose and something to gain by letting her go. He probably already knows what our instructions are, so I didn't tell him anything he didn't already know. We are between a rock and a hard place, here."

"If you get this little girl killed, I'll shoot you myself," Lisbon growled.

Jane nodded. "We don't have any good options, here. It looks to me as if going along with the exchange is our best chance. If you disagree, I don't blame you and it is your call."

Lisbon sighed. Looking at the kidnapper, "So how does this work? I just bring the money half way and hope you do as you said you'd do."

"That's about it," he said. "Other than that, you don't try to have us followed. We do have all of your communications monitored, and you'd be surprised what I have access to. No helicopters or planes, way up high. No multiple vehicle shadows. In other words, do not try to follow us. You have no idea of how my little switch works or it's range. What you do know is that you have," he looked at his watch, "about two and a half hours before she becomes a smear on the wall."

Lisbon shuddered and picked up the heavy bag of money and walked it to the half way point. When she returned to Jane, the kidnapper holding the switch walked to pick up the money, the armed man keeping close watch.

That's when it all went sour.

Three rifle shots echoed across the area. The guard jerked his automatic up, pointed it towards Jane and Lisbon and pulled the trigger. Cho heard the shots and saw the man raise his weapon and begin to fire. He fired, striking the man in the neck, almost taking his head off. He went backwards, all of the rounds he fired, harmlessly, going into the air.

The man going towards the money stopped dead, holding the switch in his right left hand, near his left ear, seemed to be reaching for a weapon with his right hand. Cho took a good sight picture, in a fraction of a second, and fired. Lisbon and Jane had thrown themselves prone.

The second man dropped, the bullet entering his right ear, leaving and exit wound that left most of the left side of his face missing.

Lisbon had held onto the laptop. She got to her knees and stared at the screen. Had the dead man's switch triggered the bomb?

oOOo


	3. Chapter 3

**When it goes Sour  
-3-**

Cho had walked down from his vantage point, carrying the heavy M14 with folded bi-pod. He walked over to the apparent leader and knelt. "Well," he asked Lisbon, "is she still alive?"

Lisbon looked up, face ashen. "I'm still getting video and she seems to be OK? He must have been lying."

Cho rolled the body onto its back and grunted. He picked up a bloody, shattered device, and held it up for all to see. "Maybe, but this thing isn't going to transmit anything. Once we wipe the brains off of it, tech will will probably be able to figure out if it was real or not."

Rigsby and Van Pelt now appeared. They were slightly out of breath and had obviously been running. "The three shots we heard were two men target shooting. There was no connection to what was happening here. They had no clue. We took there names and addresses and told them to get out of here, that it was a crime scene," Van Pelt said.

Wayne looked at the laptop screen and grunted. "How do we find her, now?"

Lisbon looked at the laptop like it was a snake. "Van Pelt, can you trace where the signal is coming from. Maybe we can find her that way."

"I can try," she said, "getting her purse from the SUV. Rummaging through her purse, she finally found the thumb drive she was looking for. "Ha!" She exclaimed. "My diagnostic software."

They all stared at her. "You carry diagnostic software with you," Lisbon asked, express the surprise they all shared.

Grace looked confused. "Well, you never know when you'll need it. Like now," she said visibly brightening.

She joined Lisbon and plugged in the thumb drive and started a program from it. "I'm looking at the active ports and the IPs associated with them." She watched the screen for a few seconds. "OK, got the IP of the video, now, I find out where it is." She paused. "Uh oh, it's in Russia. The video is being routed through a proxy. I don't think the Russians will sniff the proxy server and tell us where this particular stream originates from. Even if they would, by the time we had all the paper work done, it would probably be next year. This is a dead end."

Lisbon frowned. "What are our options?"

"Grace," Jane said, "Don't internet cameras have control programs?"

"Yes, that could work," she said. "If I can find the control program, maybe I can figure out what IP it's sending to, and that should be where the camera is." She started tapping on the keyboard. "Uh oh," she said again. "This one is in the Ukraine. It has to be a preprogrammed relay point. Ho are our relations with them?"

"Damn!" Lisbon stamped her foot. "We can't lose this little girl, we can't. How much time does it say we have left?"

Van Pelt looked at the count down timer. "Two hours and 15 minutes. What do we do now?" She sounded like she was about to cry, but everyone was feeling the stress.

Cho walked over to her. "Here," he said, handing Grace his cell phone. "Say hello."

She looked at him like he was crazy, but Cho usually had a reason for what he did. She took the phone and said, "Hello?"

"Yes. Yes. OK." She read the IP of the station that the control program was sending to. "OK. OK. Thank you." She hung up looking very confused but happy. "I have the local IP and the address of it, let's roll!

In the van, Rigsby was driving, Lisbon was on the radio, directing other law enforcement officers to the suspect site, and Grace handed Cho his cell phone. "Who was I talking to," she asked. "He had a very Russian accent and he seemed very good with computers."

Cho nodded. "He is very good with computers. He's in the Ukraine and a good guy." He took his phone and put it into his belt holster, staring straight ahead, making it clear he considered the conversation over.

They arrived to their warehouse destination quickly. Other agencies were pulling in at the same time. "Rigsby, don't freaking kill us! We do want to arrive alive!" Lisbon screamed, as she grabbed onto the seat belt, which had tightened, to steady herself. Wayne was aggressively making sure that they would be the one's arriving first, even though they had traveled further. As Wayne brought the SUV to a screeching halt, they all stared at the closed, sliding door of a warehouse.

"Now what?" Grace has expressed the thoughts of them all.

Wayne quickly responded, "We go in. That's what." He got out of the vehicle and ran to the heavy door and began looking for the control. He slammed his fist into the door when he saw that it was a keyed button.

He jumped when he heard Jane say, "Well, what did you expect? You thought it would be open to the public?" He grinned. "Here, let me and the lock have a few moments of quality time together." He leaned forward, his body blocking what he was doing from sight. "Oh, I do believe they forgot to lock it!" He smiled as the grinding sound indicated that the door was opening.

Everyone, including the arriving officers, was crowding around the opening door. When it opened, they could all see that the large opening contained one table, a small computer, and what was determined to be a wireless router. Grace vanished as she ran back to the SUV. Everyone else crowded around to see what was happening. Grace returned carrying a hand held instrument that contained a circle like antenna on top. "This is a wireless relay point for a wi-fi camera, she said. Since nothing is here and there's a wi-fi router, that has to be the case.

She held up the device she was holding and rotated the loop antenna, watching a meter on the side. "There," she said pointing, "in that direction or," she pointed in the opposite direction, "that direction." That's where the wi-fi is transmitting from. I do hope it's not another relay!" She headed for the door. "I can get a better fix on the location from another point. We can triangulate."

"Hurry up, Van Pelt." Lisbon said. "That damn count down time is counting down!"

"I know." she replied, breaking into a trot.

They all followed her as she selected her next point. Cho, on the way, had pulled a detailed map from the SUV. From the new location, she plotted on the map the line to the suspected site. Where the line, from the original reading and the new line intersected, would be where the unit was. Lisbon showed the map to the bomb squad and the swat team. "Let's go," she said. "We have a half hour left and we still aren't sure this is the one. We do know we're close, so move it!"

oOo

Wayne quickly commandeered the largest, cheesiest piece of Pizza. "Now this is what I call a good end to a very long day," he smiled.

Jane, reaching for a slice with a lot of onions, agreed, as did Van Pelt. "Yes," Grace said, "It was tense but we got it done." Grace hesitated and frowned. "Cho, the guy you called on the phone, who is he?"

"I told you. He's a friend," Cho replied.

"Can you sort of describe this friend and how you now him? He really saved the day for us."

"Yes," Cho replied.

Everyone turned to stare at Cho. In all the excitement the mystery of that phone call had be ignored, now they were all curious for a glimpse into the world of Cho. Cho picked up a slice of pizza and started eating, saying nothing.

"Cho!" Grace said. "You said you could tell us."

Cho nodded. "True, I said I could. I did not say I would." He continued to chew the pizza, contentedly.

oOOOo


End file.
